Development of high-performance filter from Agave americana fibre/polyacrylonitrile nanofibre membrane for Cd, Pb (II) and organic contaminants removal from aqueous solution

Abstract

Constructing an easily recyclable and reusable filter is highly efficient for removing Cd, Pb2+ and organic contaminants from aqueous solution. This study investigates the optimization of Cd, Pb2+ adsorption process by thiol functionalized Agave americana fibre. Additionally, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibre membrane is used as a substrate to filter the organic contaminants. The properties of adsorbents are characterized by various techniques such as Attenuated Total Reflection- Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), tensile tester and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The filter’s performance has been investigated with three variables of thiol functionalized fibre packing density, length of the functionalized fibre and nanofibre spinning time. The fibre packing density and nanofibre spinning time are the most significant parameters that affect all responses. The impact of independent variables on responses has been critically analysed. The optimized filter is identified by regression analysis. The developed filter satisfies heavy metal ion adsorption (Cd, Pb2+) and organic contaminants.